Drinking cup



May 24, 1960 J. E. PRESS ET AL 2,937,783

v DRINKING CUP Filed May 6, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG.I

INVENTORJ' JOHN E. PRESS JOHN MARK ATTY'S May 24, 1960 Jv 5, PRESS ET AL2,937,783

DRINKING CUP Filed May 6, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.4

INVENTORS JOHN E. PRESS ATTY'S,

2,937,783" DRINKING our .lohn E. Press, Niles, and John Mark, Chicago,Ill.,;=as-

.sig'nors to Federal Tool Corporation, Chicago, Ill., :1 corporation-ofIllinois Filed May "6, 1 957, Ser. No. 657,204 b Claims. (Cl. 220-94)This invention relates to drinking cups and other like vessels, and moreparticularly to an improved drinking cup that is very inexpensive toproduce and which, if desired, may be discarded after use.

One of the important objects of the present invention is to provide .adrinking cup of the above character that may be closely nested, onewithin another, during shipment or storage, but which is provided with ahandle structure which, when 'in use, has ashape, appearance anddisposition on the outside of the cup substantially like the rigidhandle of a conventional'coifee cup. In accordance with the broad objectjust stated, it is a further object of the present invention to provideadrinking cup having ahandle thereon which occupies a sub stantiallyfiat, horizontal position when thelcup .is stored or shipped in a nestedcondition with respect to other like cups, thereby permitting very closenesting .of the cups so as to require a minimum of space, thehorizontally disposed handle structures of the superimposed cupsbeingadapted to lie directly upon each other. Another object of theinvention is toprovide a cup of the .kind just stated wherein ear-like,parts of thehorizontallydisposed handle structure may be foldeddownwardly and latched in a downwardly directed position when the cup isabout to be used, thereby providing an erected handle structure havingsubstantially the same general shape and feel as thefrig-id .handleiofaconventional coffee cup. Another object of the invention is to provide acup of .the aforesaid character which may be easily and inexpensivelyformed as a single piece, and which maybe formed of a single sheet ofthermo-fplastic material such, for example, 'as polystyrene. 7

These and other objects and advantages'of 'the present invention will beapparent from the following description of a preferred embodimentthereof, taken with the accompanying drawings, wherein: a I

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a drinking cup or other "bowllike vesselconstructed in accordance with the present invention, the ears orear-like parts of the handle portion of the cup being shown in thegenerally horizontalposit'ion they occupy during .shipment or storageprior to'use ofthe cup; V Fig. .2 is an enlarged elevational view, withcertain portions broken away, of .the cup taken from the right hand sideof Fig. 11; 1

Fig. 3 is afragmentary sectionalview, on an'enlarged scale, takensubstantially along the line 13- -3 in FigL l; Fig. 4 is a plan view ofthe cup showing'the condition when the ears of the handle portionofithe'cuphavebeen folded downwardly to their usable position; j

Fig. 5 is an enlarged elevational View of the handle portion of the cup,with the ears thereof in their downwardly folded position;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-section taken through the earssubstantially along the lines 6-6 in Fig. 5; and

Fig. 7 is an elevational'view of the cup taken from the right hand sideof Fig. 5. v

, As illustrated, the'cup comprisesabowl-shaped'vessel L10 having-acircular bottom 11 and-ariircularyupwafdly ice 2 extending and outwardlyliared wall '12 that lterminates; at its upper edge in -;anoutwardlyextending lip 13/ will later be explained, the entire cup ispreferably formed'from a single sheet of relatively thin thermoplasticmaterial, thereby permitting formation of the cup to be inexpensivelyaccomplished by any suitable and I well known 'fluid pressure or vacuumforming process.

outwardly or radially projecting web-like handle element 14 isintegrally formed on the lip 13 of the cup on one sidethereof. Thecentral portion of this web-like handle element, in the presentinstance, has an up wardly embossed rib 15 formed therein, and the innerend. of the rib 15 is joined or'merges with the upper end of an'inwardlyemb'o'ss'edrib 16 that is formed in thewall 12 of the bowl. The rib 516extends downwardlyfrom the 'jrib '15 toward thebottom 11 of the'bowl,,it being observed that thesides 16d of the lib 16-are spacedapart and "form a groove (designated by thenunieral "17 for futurereference) infthe outer surface'of the wall 12 of the bowl belowthehandleelement'14.

'A'pairof laterally 'jprojectingea'rs 18 and 19 are in-.

I tegrally formed on the opposite side edges 'of the handle I facing thelip element 14 along respective lines of fo1d'20 and 21'. The centralportion of each ear is downwardly embossed, as at 22*and'23, tojprovide'increased rigidity for the ears, and the inner edges of theears adjacent the outer edge-of-the'lip 13'follow'the curvature of thelip but are spaced outwardlydherefrom. The outer edges of the ears maybe pleasingly curved, 'as illustrated in the drawings', and the outerextremity of each car, on the .side 13, is provided with a .latchingedge 24 (Fig; "1) which 'will again be referredto. The downwardlyembossed portion 22 of the car 18 is preferably providedwith"an"upwarclly embossed dimple 25, and the corresponding downwardlyembossed portion 23 of the ear 19 is provided with a downwardly embosseddimple 25, as perhaps best seen-in Figs. '1 and2. 1

The cups, in the 'form just 'de'scribed'may be quickly and inexpensivelyformed in great numbers either "by injection mold processes or by fluidpressure or vacuum molding processes. When vacuum molding isused in theproduction of the cups, a plurality of cups maybe vacuum formed from asingle sheet of thin, inexpensive, relatively flexible thermoplasticmaterial, such as high impact type polystyrene, it being understood thatthe cups, in the condition thereof shown in Figs. 1 to 3, will be "cutor stamped out of the sheet after the formation of the cups has beencompleted. it will also be apparent that'the cups, in this condition,may conveniently be closely stacked or nested, one within the other, insubstantially unlimited numbers since the bowls and thehandle-portions'o'fthecups will be identical and may be received snuglyone within the other. Shipment and storage of stacks- "of the closelynested c'ups therefore the condition thereof illustrated inFigs. -1 to3,'is held in the hand and the ears 18 and :"19 thereoflare grippedbetween the fingersof one handfand folded downwardly about theirrespective lines of ffold 20 and 21 in the direct-ion of'the arrowsshown ',in Fig. 2. During this folding movement *of the ears 1'8 and 19,the latching edges 24. thereof are moved, toward the wall 12 .Of jth cupdue to the fact that, "in the present instance, the lines of fold 2i)andZl diverge toward the bowl. As the ears I-Band 19 approach theirultimate downwardly directed positions, their latching edges 24engage'the wall 12 of the bowl and then snap into the groove 17 providedin the outer surface of the bowl by the inwardly embossed rib 16. Thesnapping entry 'ofthe latching edges 24 of the ears rsand 19mm thegroove 17 retains the ears iii x .Ra'tented May24, 1960 i theirdownwardly folded positions, in which condition the ears, in conjunctionwith the handle element 14, provide an upstanding handle that looks muchlike a conventional cuphandle and is usable for lifting the cup in thesame manner as the rigid handle of an ordinary coifee cup. At the timethe latching edges 24 of the ears are received by the groove 17, thelower or under surfaces of the downwardly embossed portions 22 and 23 ofthe cars come into contact with each other, as shown in Fig. 7. At thesame time, the dimple 26 enters the recessed side of the dimple 25,thereby later preventing any tendency for sliding movement between theembossed portions 22 and 23 of the ears 18 and 19 during use of the cup.

Due to the fact that the present cup may be so inexpensively produced oflight weight, thin plastic material, it may be thrown away after use.'However, if it is desired to reuse the cup, the cars 18 and 19 or thewall of the cup may be flexed slightly to disengage the cars from thegroove 17, whereupon the ears may be folded upwardly to their originalpositions, illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. The cups may'then be restackedor renested, one with another, and stored away for future use, thehorizontally positioned ears 18 and 19 of the cups overlying each otherand thus permitting close nesting or stacking.

When the present cup is formed of very thin and relatively flexibleplastic material, as described above, the ribs 15 and 16 servematerially to reinforce or rigidify the handle portion of the cup andthe area of the bowl adjacent the handle. In some instances it may bedesirable to rigidify the bowl in a greater area than that effected bythe rib 16, in which case additional ribs, such as the upwardlyextending and diverging ribs 27 and 28 may be embossed or formed in thewall 12 of the bowl adjacent the rib 16.

The foregoing description of one embodiment of the invention has beengiven for clearness of understanding only and no unnecessary limitationsshould be understood to be intended thereby, for it will be apparent tothose skilled in the art that numerous variations may be made in the cupwithin the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A single-piece, lightweight drinking cup or the like formed entirelyof thin plastic material, comprising a bowl, a radially projectinghandle element integrally formed on the outside of said bowl adjacent toits upper edge, an inwardly embossed and upwardly extending rib formedin the wall of said bowl below said handle element, said rib tending torigidify said bowl in the area of said handle element and providing agroove in the outer surface of said bowl below said handle element, anda pair of laterally projecting ears integrally formed on opposite sideedges of said handle element along lines of fold, said ears beingfoldable downwardly with respect 4 A I integrally formed on oppositeside edges of said handl element along lines of fold, said ears beingfoldable downwardly with respect to said handle element and along saidlines of fold to downwardly directed positions wherein the outer ends ofsaid ears snap into the groove provided by said second rib, said grooveretaining said ears in said downwardly directed positions so as toprovide a completed handle by which said bowl may be lifted. 3. Asingle-piece drinking cupor the like comprising, a vessel for receivinga liquid, an outwardly extending web-like handle element integrallyformed on the upper edge of said vessel and lying generally in the planeof said upper edge, and a pair of laterally projecting web-like earsintegrally formed on opposite side edges of said handle element alonglines of fold, said ears normally being disposed generally in the planeof said upper edge of said vessel sorthat a plurality of said drinkingcups may be closely'nested one within another during storage andshipment, saidears being foldable downwardly with respect to said linesof fold to downwardly directed positions, the outer surface of saidvessel having a groove therein for receiving and retaining an edge ofeach of said ears when in said downwardly directed positions to providea completed handle by which said vessel may be lifted.

4. A single-piece drinking cup or the like comprising a bowl, a radiallyprojecting handle element integrally formed on the outside of said bowl,and a pair of laterally projecting ears integrally formed on oppositeside edges of said handle element, said ears being foldable downwardlywith respect to said handle element to downwardly directed positions,said bowl having a retaining groove formed on the outer surface thereofbelow said handle element, said groove retaining said ears in saiddownwardly directed positions so as to provide a com pleted handle ,bywhich said bowl may be lifted..

5. A single-piece drinking cup or the like comprising a bowl, a radiallyprojecting handle element integrally formed on the outside of said bowl,a pair of laterally projecting ears integrally formed on opposite sideedges of said handle element, 'said ears being foldable downf wardlywith respect to said handle element to downwardly directed positions,and a pair of abutment shoulders formed on said bowl below said handleelement to engage and to retain said ears in said downwardly directedpositions so "as to provide a completed handle to said handle elementand along said lines of fold to I downwardly directed positions whereinthe outer ends of said ears snap into the groove provided by said rib,said groove retaining said ears in said downwardly directed positions soas to provide a completed handle by which said bowl may be lifted.

2. A single-piece, lightweight drinking cup or the like formed entirelyof thin plastic material, comprising a bowl, a radially projectinghandle element integrally formed on the outside of said bowl adjacent toits upper edge, an upwardly embossed radially extending rib formed inthe web of said handle element, an inwardly embossed and upwardlyextending second rib formed in the wall of said bowl and joining saidfirst mentioned rib, said ribs tending to rigidify both said handleelement and the area of said wall adjacent to said handle element, andsaid second rib also providing an upwardly extending groove in the outersurface of said bowl below said handle element, and a pair of laterallyprojecting cars.

by which said bowl may be lifted.

6. A single-piece drinking cup or the like comprising, a vessel forreceiving a'liquid, an outwardly extending web-like handle elementintegrally formed on the upper edge of said vessel and lying generallyin the plane of said upper edge, a'pair of laterally projecting web-likeears integrally formed on opposite side edges of said handle elementalong lines-of fold, said ears normally being disposed generally in theplane of said upper edge of said vessel so that a plurality of saiddrinking cups may be closely nested one within another during storageand shipment, said ears being foldable downwardly with respect to saidlines of fold to downwardly directed positions, latching edges formed onthe outer ends of said ears, retaining means "formed on said vesselbelow said handle element to engage and to retain said latching edgeswhen said ears are in downwardly directed positions to provide acompleted vertically extending handle by which said vessel may belifted, and means for preventing sliding movement of said ears withrespect to each other when said ears are in said downwardly directedpositions.

Mar. 14, 1950 Bergstein Mar. 30, 1954 Colman 2,500,338 masse-

